


Plain Ring

by aquietdin



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Several rings in fact, Spoilers, Yu liked it so he put a ring on it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 16:46:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6432397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquietdin/pseuds/aquietdin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Plain Ring: A ring with a simple design. ATK/DFS+0. Yosuke's initial equipment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Plain Ring

Yosuke liked his ring. It was one of his last purchases in the city, bought three days before he helped his dad load the car and drive away from everything he’d ever known. It was a simple thing, a plain silver band with lines carved around the edges. He tried on three others before settling on that one, slipping it onto the index finger of his left hand.

It was a good fit. Not too big, but not thin enough to be girly. Along with his headphones, it would set him apart in the little po-dunk town where he was being dragged.

That was the plan, anyway.

Yosuke wasn’t expecting the way the ring clicked on his kunai in battle. Chie commented on it, complaining that she could hear the sound even over the shadows.

“Will you take that thing off?” She whined, stretching her arm across her body. Yosuke switched both kunai to his right hand and used his left thumb to play with the ring.

“What’s wrong with it?” He protested.

Yosuke held back a yelp as Yu grasped his left wrist, pulling his hand up to examine the little silver band.

“It’s nice, but it doesn’t really offer any tactical advantage,” Yu analyzed, his voice low and calm. Yosuke’s cheeks went warm at the way Yu pinched his wrist between a finger and a thumb.

The following day, Yu handed him a Spark Pin. It looked almost like a brooch, a little silver medal with a vague lightning pattern on the surface. Yosuke took it with a small thanks, and Yu’s face was blank and stoic as ever.

The medal worked, at least as well as he was expecting, absorbing a good deal of lightning that shadows cast his way. But he missed his ring. After more than six months of the familiar metal band, Yosuke could still see the dent (and slight tan line) in his finger where it used to sit. He stared at it, frowning, as they left the TV world behind for the day, not noticing Yu’s eyes on him.

—–

Yosuke was setting up a playlist while Yu handed out the new equipment. There were no new knives for him this time, but Chie was given a bracer that was supposed to up her ice magic, and Yukiko received a fancy sash to help her endurance.

He was putting his favorite song in the playlist for a second time when Yu called his name. Yosuke was handed a ring, a silver band with a little yellow gem, set flush against the metal. He raised an eyebrow at Yu.

“Spark ring,” his partner responded. “Same effect as the pin.”

Yosuke slipped the ring on his left index finger. It fit.

—–

“The hell are you wearing? An engagement ring?”

The jeer almost went right over Yosuke’s head where it was buried in his arms on his desk. The last week had been a blur of TV World, work, homework, TV World, work, and then more TV World. The fact that he was functioning at all today was a miracle.

Yosuke lifted his head and gave his classmates a confused look. They pointed to the Spark Ring on his finger. The little yellow jewel was twinkling in the sunlight that came through the classroom windows. He sputtered and hid his hand.

—–

Yu gave him another ring before they went to rescue Rise. This time the band was a dark silver, heavy and wide, with a cat’s eye gem set in the middle. Yosuke took it, weighing it in his hand.

“This one should help you avoid lightning altogether,” Yu explained.

Yosuke pulled the Spark Ring off and replaced it with his new ring, flexing the fingers on his left hand. He liked how this one fit. He tried to give the Spark Ring back to Yu, but his partner only curled Yosuke’s fingers around it with a smile.

“Keep it. In case this one doesn’t work as well.”

When he got home, Yosuke put the Spark Ring in a wooden box, hidden in his bedside drawer, right next to his plain ring.

—–

Gaining Susanoo-O was incredible. The power was so liberating, sweeping away Yosuke’s insecurities. He even felt his weakness to lightning vanish. So, logically, he gave the ring back to Yu.

“I don’t really need to worry about electricity anymore, so you can sell this.”

Yu’s face creased oddly, like he’d just remembered he’d left the stove on. He held the ring for a moment before passing it back to Yosuke.

“Keep it,” he said again. “You never know when you’ll need it.”

So Yosuke did, putting it next to the other two in the box in the drawer.

—–

Two days later, they were picking out new equipment at Daidara’s for their venture to save Naoto. Yu handed out a few things: a bracer for Yukiko, a chest guard for Kanji, a red brooch for Chie. Yosuke had his eyes on a wooden amulet that was supposed to counteract fear, but Yu beat him to the punch.

“Here,” Yu said, and Yosuke held out his palm. A ring plopped into his hand, this one with a black band and jade inset in a swirling design. Yosuke raised an eyebrow this time.

One time didn’t seem odd. After the second time, Yosuke had noticed a pattern. This time confirmed it. “Dude,” He said, keeping his voice low. “It’s cool that you want to get me equipment, but I wasn’t that attached to my old ring.”

Yu’s face fell, his eyes moving from Yosuke’s face to the ring and back.

“It’s a Storm Vow,” he said. “Increases wind attacks.” There was a stretch of silence where Yukiko’s tittering laughter in the background was the only thing Yosuke could hear.

“I’ll get you something else.” Yu went to reach for the ring, but something in his voice made Yosuke’s fingers curl around the metal protectively. He stood with his mouth open for several beats before snapping to attention.

“Oh!"Yosuke made a show of cheerfully putting the ring on, feeling power thrum through his hand. "Why didn’t you say so, partner? This will come in handy.”

Yu smiled at him, and Yosuke convinced himself that the heat in his face was from Daidara’s metalworking furnace.

—–

This was the worst, Yosuke thought to himself. This couldn’t get any worse.

Yu’s hand was threatening to tear the fabric of the back of his shirt, his face buried in Yosuke’s neck. His shoulders shook. His whole body shook. Yu was crying, albeit nearly silently, crumpled on the floor like a broken doll in an empty house. Yosuke couldn’t hold back a few tears of his own, watching them darken the silver of Yu’s hair.

Yu’s other hand, the one not in a death grip at his back, was bunched up at Yosuke’s collar. So Yosuke gripped it and held tight, feeling the ring on his left index finger tighten against his skin.

“We’ll get her back, Partner,” he spoke into Yu’s scalp. “I promise.”

The tremors subsided and Yu’s breathing evened out. He turned his face to rest his cheek against Yosuke’s collarbone, still wet with tears. It made Yosuke itchy, but he ignored it, stroking a thumb in slow circles on Yu’s back.

The hand that was balled up at Yosuke’s collar uncurled, shifting out from underneath Yosuke’s fingers to coil around his hand. Yu squeezed Yosuke’s hand once, then played with the ring on Yosuke’s finger, shifting the band side to side.

Yosuke pulled Yu closer and held him there.

—–

They emerged from Heaven beaten and bruised and maybe even a bit bloody, if the cut on Kanji’s lip could be counted. And Yosuke was pretty sure it could be. But they had Nanako, they had Namatame. All they could do now was wait.

Yosuke went back to Yu’s house with him, texting Teddie furiously without response. Yu let him take a bath and borrow pajamas while he cooked a small, simple dinner of eggs, rice, and vegetables. Yu barely ate. Yosuke was amazed that he could even keep his eyes open.

They both fell asleep in Yu’s futon, too exhausted to pull the spare from the closet, Yosuke settling against Yu’s back with a sigh.

—–

The next day, they skipped class.

Yosuke awoke to Yu’s stare from the pillow next to him. He muttered a good morning, mindful of his breath, and got up. As he exited the room, Yu informed him of the spare toiletries underneath the bathroom sink.

After finding and using a tiny, sealed travel toothbrush, Yosuke returned to find a steaming tea kettle and two cups set up on the work table, supported by pot holders. He finally took stock of the utter wreck the room was in, Yu’s normally carefully placed possessions scattered about. Some looked like they’d been thrown.

Yu excused himself, and Yosuke poured a cup of tea. Chie had texted him a few times, he type out a short explanation of their absence. His parents were going to kill him.

When Yu returned, he went straight for his uniform pants, piled up in a corner with the rest of his dirty clothes from the day before. He dug through the pockets with a frown, took something out, and rejoined Yosuke on the floor.

Yosuke poured him some tea. Yu stared at the cup for a long time, then turned to Yosuke.

“Here,” he said, and pushed a ring into Yosuke’s hand. It was the Chakra Ring, the one they’d gotten for defeating that insane Shadow before they’d even reached Namatame. Yu had equipped it right away, and Yosuke was ready to give it most of the credit for the reason they were still alive.

The ring was bright silver, a smooth gem in the center that seemed to shift colors with the light.

“I can’t take this,” Yosuke said.

But Yu was already pulling the Storm Vow from his finger and replacing it with the Chakra Ring, the movements slow and delicate. Yosuke held his breath.

—–

He didn’t think he was capable of killing. But the sound of a flat lining heart monitor told Yosuke otherwise. He wanted someone, anyone, to pay.

It was Yu’s hand on his, gripping his fingers tight enough to make the Chakra Ring pinch, that brought him back to reality.

The real horror came when Yu finally put all the pieces together, standing in the snow outside Aiya. Yu’s face was blank. Yosuke felt sick.

Adachi.

And then they were diving head first into hell again. Yosuke could tell Yu was scared. Scared and angry. So when he was handed a ring from a treasure chest, Yosuke didn’t hesitate to put it on.

—–

Nanako was released from the hospital, and with her, Yu’s smile returned. They were done with the TV World, but Yosuke kept the Chakra Ring. He wore it nearly every day, ignoring questions from boys and girls alike.

Yosuke spent as much time as he could with Yu, both in and out of school. Yu seemed to smile every time he caught a glimpse of Yosuke’s hand, sometimes even reaching out to play with the ring. Yosuke let him.

The final day came. From the hidden box in his room, Yosuke had retrieved his first ring, rolling it over in his hands, admiring the simple design. He tucked the ring into his pocket and set off to spend one last afternoon with his partner before seeing him off.

—–

Things are never that simple. But at least Yosuke could add ‘punching a literal god in the face’ to his resume.

Yu smiled at him as they returned to Junes, leaving the TV world behind for good. And on the walk back to Dojimas, Yu’s fingers slipped into Yosuke’s, squeezing gently.

—–

The morning air was cool and crisp on the train platform. Yu’s scheduled train wasn’t leaving for another twenty minutes, but they were there anyway. The rest of the team had yet to show up, Nanako had skipped off to a vending machine.

Carefully, Yosuke took his plain ring from his pocket. He lifted Yu’s left hand and slid the band down onto his index finger, the same place he’d worn it more than a year ago. Yu’s eyes were wide, staring at the ring for a long while before meeting Yosuke’s.

“Keep it,” Yosuke whispered. Yu smiled, and leaned in until their foreheads touched.

As the train pulled away, Yosuke played with the underside of his ring with his thumb.


End file.
